I’m surprised how long it’s been! Once upon a time I was so engaged in this community, and I loved every second of it. Surrounding myself with write-minded people and their amazing content and getting to exercise that part of my brain on the regular was a wonderful outlet. If you followed me long-term, you probably noticed the gaps between my posts and replies increasing once I started medical school (and only getting more pronounced the further along I progressed). Well, I’m still here, and I hope to be able to catch back up with my followers and friends who are still kicking as well!
So what have I been up to all this time?
I made some healthy life changes and improved my daily habits to be a better version of myself!
I completed nearly three years of medical school and passed my first licensing exam. (I’ll graduate with my MD summer 2023.)
I met my forever person and fell in love, which has tested me, blessed me and helped me grow more than I ever could have expected.
I rekindled my love of reading and rebuilt a reading habit.
What I was in denial about for a long time but have eventually come to accept is this: I am not able to maintain a writing practice at this time. At first, I thought there was something deeply wrong with this and that I had failed. The reality, though, is that life happens in seasons, and there is a time for everything. My time for writing isn’t over, and it will be back again. This is the season in which I must let the fields lay fallow so they may be fruitful again in future years. My identity as a writer and a dreamer has not changed. If this is something you are struggling with as well, I hope you eventually feel encouraged in your seasons of change too.
I have no plans to leave Tumblr, or the writeblr community, permanently, and this account will remain active and (at least occasionally) monitored for messages and activity. I may even unleash a post from my drafts once in a blue moon. I hope to continue to see growth in the community and in all of your lovely WIPs and writing journeys!
My current plan is actually to return to the platform in the adjacent reading community with a new sideblog, @mischiefisreading. After all, aside from being a part of my DNA, reading is a crucial part of writing and something I deeply enjoy. I hope to connect with even more lovely bookish people and to continue making the things I love a part of my life as frequently as possible.
Thank you to everyone who supported my writeblr over the years - I could never have imagined how many of you there would be when I began. I wanted to share this update with all of you to let you know I am well, where I disappeared to, and where and how I’ll be reappearing in the near future. Please feel free to get in touch with me here, on my main @mischiefisgreen or on my new book blog, @mischiefisreading, which is currently under construction.
As I was gone for a while, I thought it might be good to reintroduce myself to the writeblr community!
Heya, I’m Julia and I’m a 23-year-old writer from Scotland. I’ve been writing for eleven years and I have more story ideas than time to write them. Aside from writing, I read (mostly fantasy and sci-fi), play video games (Dragon Age <3), paint with watercolours and make polymer clay jewellery and figurines. (Too many hobbies, not enough time!)
I write mostly fantasy, although I’ve dabbled in sci-fi and contemporary in the past. I’ll be making proper introduction/reintroduction posts for my WIPs in the future, but for now here’s a summary.
My current WIPs are:
The one I’m currently writing: an adult high fantasy standalone novel tentatively titled Priestess of Fire; features a bi protagonist and an f/f romance; the setting is inspired by the Byzantine empire; there are meddling gods, temple ruins, mercenaries, an unstable empire, love, revenge, powerful magic, heartbreak, destiny and an overarching search for purpose.
The one I’ve worked on the longest: an adult low fantasy series tentatively called The Crown of Palenia (six books divided into two arcs); there are six POV characters and a lot of queer rep; it’s set in the same world as PoF, just about a thousand years later; the setting is inspired by Renaissance France; there are meddling nobles, an unstable country, an exiled princess, duels, balls, rebellion, dying magic, sacrifice, secret romances, not-so-secret romances, poisonings, betrayals, war and a lot of morally grey characters.
The one in the middle: an adult high fantasy duology without a name; all I can say is that it’s set in the same world as PoF and TCoP (somewhere in the middle, timeline-wise) in a land inspired by the early medieval Slavic history; it was inspired by a Russian folk rock song and will have a slightly older protagonist (she even has a child).
The dark one: an adult dark fantasy standalone called Finist; it’s a retelling of the Russian fairy tale The Feather of Finist the Falcon and I wrote the first draft during last year’s NaNoWriMo; it’s currently shelved, as I need time to decide what exactly I want the central theme to be.
The adventure one: an adult fantasy trilogy without a name that I might make my NaNo project this year; features a lesbian swordswoman protagonist, a gay disaster nobleman and a demon on a road trip/epic quest; setting will be most likely inspired by Renaissance Italy; there will be duels and magic and romance, with a sprinkle of banter.
The YA one: a YA urban fantasy duology called The Keepers of Moscow; it’s a story that’s very dear to me, but for now it’s on the back burner.
Aside from the above, I occasionally write short fiction and my asks are always open for prompts and questions. My DMs are also always open, so don’t be afraid to send me a message as I’d like to make some new friends on here and reconnect with old ones!
Hey welcome back! Good to see you in the writeblr sphere again Can’t wait to catch up with your writing journey.
There are a lot of iconic squads of fictional characters out there who play off each other to absolute perfection. They keep us coming back for more and inspire fanfiction and fanart and shoving whatever piece of media they come from down the throats of everyone we know. (Just me?)
Frodo and Sam. Sherlock and Watson. Sam and Dean. The Gaang. Whether they’re siblings, lovers, frenemies, or bitter rivals, character dynamics can bring life to a work of fiction in a way few other things can.
What are your favorite character dynamics? Do you prefer duos or an entire squad? What elements in a dynamic make it truly *chef’s kiss*? Do your preferences differ if you’re the reader as opposed to the writer?
I’ll start things off with two of my favorite character dynamics/tropes. The first is grizzled and/or gruff loner character who Does Not Form Attachments that adopts the smol bean who is a living ray of sunshine or otherwise just their child/charge now. From John Silver taking Jim Hawkins under his wing in Treasure Planet to the titular Mandalorian forming a clan of two with Baby Yoda, I cannot get enough of this trope. It tugs at the heart strings and sets up great potential for suspense, strife, and angst. There’s something about the innocence of the smol bean proving the warmth of their rough and tough guardian and bringing out their potential for good, especially in the context of a more morally ambiguous character.
The second dynamic is enemy-to-adopted-weird-uncle-who-still-hasn’t-really-changed-sides-exactly. The most prototypical example of this is Hector Barbosa in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. He’s the primary antagonist of the first film, but by the third (spoilers) he’s marrying two of the heroes mid-battle. He’s not exactlyfriends with the good guys, but at the same time, he is. The longstanding comedic irony in this group dynamic is one of the primary draws for me, as well as that unique push and pull of being fond of someone you can’t necessarily trust to be on your side. I revel in the massive grey area of these kinds of relationships.
I don’t know that I have a true preference for group dynamics or one-on-ones, but group dynamics often prove to be more difficult to balance. There’s actually a pretty clean split between my two active WIPs. In The Calm Before, it’s more a series of one-on-one dynamics, while Here There Be Monsters has to deal more with how a larger group interacts and relates as a whole.
Join in and start chatting about character dynamics! Reblog or tag me in your own ‘Write Angle’ post with your take. No deadline for participation, and no need to necessarily answer the questions above - they’re just prompts to get the ball rolling!
Taglist under the cut. Drop me a line to be added/removed.
I love character dynamics like you’ve mentioned! I’m such an absolute sucker for stoic, brooding characters who adopt a cheerful companion as well. I have a relationship like that in a wip of mine and it’s just,,,,lovely. Another one I love is best friends ganging up on everyone else, whether it be through pranks or morals or a heartfelt moment, you know They’re always going to stick together no matter what.
Yessss the Power of Friendship ™! I’m always onboard for an unshakeable group of ride-or-die friends. What do you think the greatest challenge is in writing a stoic character/cheerful companion dynamic?
Finding a balance, definitely! You want them to get along but you don’t want it to feel forced, the stoic character won’t instantly love the cheerful one’s personality unless the point of the plot is that they do. Depending on what you want to go for, the two can fall for each other’s personalities instantly or have a long, hard trek to acceptance and love, platonic or romantic.
(from someone who is too tired and too old to deal with the drama and emotional stress communities cause)
you don’t need to put a lot of energy into reacting to people’s works. that is to say, you don’t need to put special comments on everything, or critique every excerpt, you don’t need to respond the day something is posted. all that matters when it comes to interacting is that reblogs ‘help’ more than likes.
it doesn’t matter if you make graphics or post screenshots of your wip or just copy paste the text with no fancy nonsense at all. just share your writing however you enjoy to and don’t worry about the rest.
peer pressure is bullshit. trends are ridiculous. mimic people if you want, but not because they ‘get more attention’ or ‘feel like they’re better than you’ or anything else beyond ‘i find this inspiring and want to learn to write this way on my own.’
never follow writing advice for any of the reasons above either. just because someone gets 50+ reactions to a post doesn’t mean their ‘how to write good’ advice will make any fucking sense for you.
please remember above all that tumblr isn’t real and nothing here matters. that is to say, just because you get a lot of reblogs or no interaction doesn’t mean your writing will be huge/be nothing in the real world. don’t build your ego around the interaction writeblr gives you. notes =/= worth.
Airdyle sighed and ran a hand through his sparse, greying hair. “Glenn, honey, you don’t know who you’re messing with,” he said in a low, gruff voice. “They like the broken ones. It’s easier to put someone together how they want and make allowances for cracks, than it is to build something lethal from the ground up.” He sipped his glass of orange juice.
Glenn slouched in her seat and drummed her stubby nails on the table. “You saying I can’t cut it?”
Airdyle sighed, exasperated. “That’s what you took away?” He stood and pulled his shirttail from his jeans, revealing a jagged scar along his taut belly. “What’s this?”
Glenn shrugged. “Said it was an accident.”
Airdyle dropped his shirt and sat. “Brotherhood don’t have accidents, peach. This is early retirement, and they don’t give benefit packages no more. Stay out of it.”
Glenn nodded, but made no promises. She couldn’t lie to her uncle.
If Vera were born forty years earlier, her looks and figure could be the envy of all her friends. Instead, she lives hyper aware that contouring, styling and instagram fame are what’s important if she wants to have popularity and impact. She’s happy to go without those things – a shallow existence never appealed anyway – but she wouldn’t mind the attention if it got her causes notice. Soon, it won’t matter. She’s getting attention whether she wants it or not. The heir to a throne always does. Along with that attention she meets an intriguing man who is far more than his bland appearance suggests.
A vibrant businesswoman, unafraid to use every weapon in her arsenal to get the job done, Sorcha Dunaid is a force few reckon with and escape unscathed. Red-haired, brown eyed and possessing a honeyed, malt whiskey voice, first impressions imply she’s fun in the bedroom. The impression isn’t wrong, but she’s equally dominating in the boardroom. It’s a mistake to assume her good looks and charm are her only attributes. Her lightning quick wit and fierce intelligence are sharper than any blade, and she has no reservations cutting her enemies down to size. And she has plenty of them. They hide on the fringes, scavengers waiting for a bigger predator to arrive and take a chunk out of her. Leave her bleeding and weak, so they can devour what remains. Sorcha’s guard remains strong, she won’t fall so easily. Not in any business deal, and not to any pretty face offering to buy her a drink.
SarnaiRamchaa: quick-witted, brave and a little bit reckless when the situation calls. Tall and slim, with high cheekbones and sharp eyes, she’s travelled the world as a photojournalist, but never thought the biggest story would land in her lap during a break. Whispers of the Brotherhood pervade every culture, woven through world history. The myth of their true purpose slides off the religious charity organisation bearing the same name. Why? With many deaths attributed to the secretive assassins, Sarnai’s nose twitches with curiosity and suspicion. Smart enough to know if she looks into it she’ll wind up adding to the body count, she’s using the story of an old chemical factory explosion to conceal her true intentions. Still, even with this, she remains on guard. Perhaps too much. Knocking out a man asking the time because he approached at night and from behind might be a paranoid step too far. Or is it?
Ina Howell, dark-haired, blue-eyed, and a long way from the sleepy Welsh village of her childhood. She’s brought a piece with in the form of her younger brother, Lewys, and cousin Ghenha. Working at a research hospital in Seattle, her goal is simple: find a cure for her brother’s genetic illness before it kills him. He says they’ve got time. She knows better. She didn’t become a doctor by accident. All those books she read while studying informed her of the terrible things coming to her brother before he dies. She won’t let that happen, and why can’t her bosses understand her urgency? She told them what she needs to do, but they drag their heels. If she weren’t so level-headed she’d think there’s a conspiracy, and the annoying Japanese man harassing her isn’t helping matters. Although, his expression when he fails at lecturing her is kind of cute.
That piece of advice about writing 500 words a day - it’s such an easy goal! Well, maybe you can’t write 500 words a day. Maybe you can only write 200 words a day. Maybe you can only write 200 words a week. Maybe it’s 50 a week. Or less. It’s okay. It’s all okay. It adds up. You’ll get there.
Glenn Oake is like the personification of autumn with her bright ginger hair the colour of falling leaves and skin the colour of steamed milk covered with cinnamon speckled freckles. She’s the sight that makes others imagine cosy days in a coffee shop whiling away hours for no reason other than comfort. Her smile is charm itself. She has an adorable gap in her front teeth that she refuses to have closed because it’s the same as Madonna’s. She’s perky and vibrant. The absolute last person anyone would accuse of being an assassin. Well, it runs in the family, so she’s not really to blame. With the Brotherhood haemorrhaging members, they’ve got no choice but to rely on outsiders to fill their ranks. It’s the chance Glenn’s been living for. Yolo and no regrets, and all that. This is her moment. Nothing will mess it up.
Utamara Ndiaye. Half Senegalese, half Japanese, all precious. She speaks seven languages and has so much charm she can make the coldest person feel like they’re in the tropics. She keeps her hair natural, loves red lipstick and leaving lipstick stains on her girlfriend’s cheek just for fun. If the zombie apocalypse happens tomorrow, she’s got two lifetime’s supply of tea. She’s smart, but chaotic. Tactful and oozing respect. She loves with a whole heart and sees no reason to hide who she is. She’ll do anything to help a friend, but on this occasion she can’t help question if Yueliang is playing with a full deck.
Anna Orlov. Russian officer stationed in Japan as part of a protection detail to the Ambassador. Tall, imposing, poker faced and with neat, bobbed red hair. Her dark eyes two pools filled with nightmares from the past. To escape herself, she wanted to embody the idea foreigners had of Russians. That they didn’t have feelings. They’re robots and cold as ice. Blunt instruments that bludgeon anyone trying to get close. She didn’t reckon on meeting someone like Ndiaye, and every day that passes she wakes wondering when the other shoe will drop. When it will end. As much as she prepared for all eventualities, she never saw this coming.
Mohammed al Sadat. Literally the most charming man anyone’s ever set eyes on in their life and he knows it. Think Egyptian James Bond and you’ll understand the persona he’s channelling with all the acting skills under his belt. Mohammed doesn’t look like a killer with his soulful eyes, earnest smile and smooth moves. For the most part he isn’t. He leaves the messy stuff for others to deal with unless told otherwise. That’s just how things are. His skills lie in seducing secrets from unwilling lips without the target even realising what they’ve done. He’s very good at it, too. Men or women, he’s not picky who’s in his bed and that makes him a valuable asset to the Brotherhood. No one can resist him. Until he meets her.
With the perfect poker face, Belias couldn’t tell if this was a set up or if she was serious. It could go either way. “Look into? Professionally or otherwise?”
Sorcha ducked her head and laughed. “Are you still mad about my little trick?” Warm brown eyes met steely onyx. She drew in a sharp breath. “You are!”
Dissolving into giggles, Belias had to wait for Sorcha to regain her composure before he replied. “You set me up.”
She flapped her hand. “Oh pish. It’s hardly my fault you won’t make the first move. He’s adorable and you look good together. I did you a favour.”
“Don’t tell me, you ‘ship it’,” he replied, making air quotes with his fingers.
She laughed, “Belias, you’re so pre-millennial.”
A dark brow shot up. “Did you just call me a baby boomer?”
More laughter. “Hardly! You’re far too booming to be a boomer, darling.” A notification on her phone had her rising from her chair. “Time to play with a real boomer and all his misogyny.”
Belias followed two paces behind, saying, “Try not to ruin his ego too much, you still need his vote when you go to the board.”
Ryang Ji-hoon has the unfortunate luck to look like a member of a boyband. You might think otherwise, but for Ji-hoon, who needs to be invisible when he works, being asked for his autograph and getting his picture taken all the time makes his work so much riskier. A late arrival to the Brotherhood, Ji-hoon’s training went to extremes to get him ready alongside his peer group. His gratitude to Hisakawa Kagegorou carried him through the worst of it; reinforcing the reminder it was this or prison. He mentally cut ties with parts of his personality to cope, but still couldn’t wrap his head around how the organisation made its members grateful and willing to carry out assassinations for them. The money’s alluring, along with other perks, but late at night when he can’t sleep, Ji-hoon wonders why one stupid mistake as a teenager cost him so much. Maybe that’s why when he sees the chance to break from the Brotherhood he doesn’t think too much about consequences before leaping.
Ok, my writeblr buds, I’m gonna rec some books for anyone trying to figure out the whole wordy thing. These are on my shelf and I love them. Super useful, very well organised and legit my favourite physical resource for descriptive purposes. The examples I’m including are short versions because each one covers two pages, so you definitely get your money’s worth. I paid just under £50 for the entire set, which I bought individually by shopping around. There’s also a companion booklet that goes with the Emotion Thesaurus that I don’t have that includes more information the authors put together after publication. These books work in tandem with each other, so you can use the information from one in another. They also reference other pages in themselves to help you even more. I do recommend having the set, but it depends what kind of writer you are. If you’re weak in character creation then the positive and negative traits are for you. If getting emotions across is your sticking point then go for the emotion and emotional wound thesauruses. The two location helpers are great all round and really help spark ideas for when you know how a place looks but you can’t get the right words out to describe it. Anyway, to the examples! This is a long post, sorry in advance.
THE EMOTION THESAURUS Ever struggled for more than just another word for how someone feels? Yeah, we all been there. This book contains not just a list of emotions, but offers a definition, physical signs, internal sensations, mental responses, cues of acute or long term effects of that emotion, connections to other emotions resulting from the emotion you’re looking up, cues of suppressed emotion and a handy tip.
EX:GRATITUDE—Thankfulness, feeling grateful or appreciative. Physical signs. Eyes that are soft, filled with an inner glow. Clasping another’s forearm or hand. Tapping a loose fist against the heart.
Internal sensations. Tingling warmth in the limbs. A release of all bodily tension. A feeling of expansion in the chest.
Mental responses. Desiring to repay another’s kindness and support. Feeling overwhelmed in a good way. Wanting to drink in the moment, to remember this feeling forever.
Cues of acute or long termgratitude. Worship. Falling to one’s knees. Joyful tears.
May escalate to: SATISFACTION. PEACEFULNESS. HAPPINESS.
Cues of suppressed gratitude. Closing the eyes. Ducking one’s head to hide one’s expression. Avoiding eye contact.
THE EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS Honestly, of the set this one is my favourite. It has a very comprehensive list of different types of trauma and it’s nicely set out into different categories with detailed information in each section.
EX:MISPLACED LOYALTY
Examples: Learning one was a pawn for others. Being used by a love interest. Being thrown under the bus by a family member.
Basic needs often compromised by this wound: Love and belonging. Esteem and recognition.
False beliefs that could be embraced. I can’t trust my own instincts. I’m so gullible; I believe anything anyone says. No one can be trusted.
The character may fear: Intimacy with others Sharing personal information. Being betrayed by a loved one. Possible responses and results. Negative self-talk Withdrawing from others Becoming disloyal
Personality traits that may form. Attributes: Analytical, appreciative, bold, cautious. Flaws: Apathetic, antisocial, callous, catty.
Triggers that might aggravate this wound: Suspecting that someone is being used by others. Not knowing if a friend can be trusted. Catching a friend in a lie.
Opportunities to face or overcome this wound: Finding one is guilty of betraying the trust of others. Being given a chance to join a group instead of living on the fringes of a community. Making oneself vulnerable again by offering support.
THE POSITIVE TRAIT THESAURUS. Now, I know for a fact there’s so many of us who struggle with character creation and how to develop our oc’s personality, so this is a godsend! It’s also handy if you’re already confident about who your characters are, but want to broaden their personality traits. I’d recommend using this one alongside the negative personality trait to build a balanced character.
EX:DISCIPLINED—Exhibiting willpower and self-control.
Categories:Achievement, identity. Similar attributes:Self-controlled. Possible causes:Being strongly dedicated to a goal of belief. Being raised in a devout household. Participating in competitive sports.
Associated behaviours: Adhering to long-term routines or patterns. Making sacrifices to achieve one’s goals. Having a strong moral barometer.
Associated thoughts: “I’d like to go out, but I need to get to bed early so I’m ready for tomorrow.”, “If I save up my tips for the next three months, I can take that trip to Mexico.”
Associated emotions: Confidence, desire, determination. (This is where the emotion thesaurus comes in handy)
Positive aspects: Disciplined characters are focused and determined with concrete goals. They’re strong planners, choosing the best and most direct course of action in order to achieve a desired result.
Negative Aspects: Disciplined characters are sometimes so focused on what they want that they marginalise friends and loved ones. Example from film: He may not be the smartest guy on the block, but Rocky Balboa has strength of will when it comes totraining. Traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict: Dependent, gentle, influential, innocent, manipulative.
Challenging scenarios for the disciplined character: Remaining disciplined during times of doubt and insecurity. Facing a temptation that is as tantalising as one’s original goal. Having an identity crisis that forces one to reevaluate the current path.
THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS This goes great alongside the positive trait thesaurus if you struggle with creating characters. There’s every negative personality trait you can think of, with examples and how it affects the character. It’ll also link positive traits and emotions and possible wounds caused by negative personality traits, so these four books I’ve mentioned really work as a set and reference each other, which makes things a lot easier.
EX:MACHO—Aggressively pride in one’s manly qualities, including a belief in one’s right to dominate.
Similar flaws: Virile.
Possible causes:Being raised in a tradition people with traditional ideas. A fear of being perceived as feminine or unmanly. A history of being bullied.
Associated behaviours and attitudes: Obsessively working out. Aggression. Bullying others. Steroid use. Refusing to do “womens’ work”. Domestic abuse.
Associated thoughts: “As a matter of fact, I am god’s gift to women.”, “The house better be clean when I get home or Amy’s gonna be sorry.”
Positive aspects: Many macho characters see nothing wrong with acting the way they do. Somewhere, they’ve seen or heard this is the way real men behave and they’re trying to live up to this standard.
Negative aspects: Macho characters are offensive on a number of levels. Their proprietary attitudes towards women stem from the belief that women are frail beings who need someone to take care of them.
Example from film: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.
Overcoming this trait as a major flaw: Machismo is simple masculinity taken too far, usually out of a need to prove something. This character will need to recalibrate his idea of manliness—possibly through a positive role model who refuses to accept their behaviour.
Traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict: Nagging, cocky, confrontational, controlling.
THE URBAN SETTING THESAURUS I know I’m not alone when I can’t think of how to word what a place looks like. This is here to save you! Lots of lovely descriptive sentences that invoke imagery you can build on for your setting. You get your five senses laid out, along with examples of the type of people found in the location and related settings to link the location with. There’s also some factual notes that will help you research your location further.
EX:SUBWAY TUNNEL
Sights: Bars of blue-tinged light spaced out along the track, darkness, concrete walls, graffiti, a narrow ledge along one or both walls, pipes running horizontally along the walls, motion sensors, track lines.
Sounds: The rattle and roar of a passing train, brakes screeching as a high-speed train hits a sharp corner, water dropping, the hum of live tracks, rats squeaking and scrabbling over concrete.
Tastes: Some settings have no specific tastes associated with them beyond what the character might bring into the scene.
Textures and sensations: Being buffeted by the wind from a passing train, cold concrete under one’s hand, rough concrete catching on clothing as one slides along the wall, grit and sand scraping one’s skin when a train goes by, debris crunching under one’s shoes.
People commonly found here: Homeless people, subway work crews.
Related settings that may tie in with this one: Sewers, Subway train (this is where it gives another page number in this book)
Setting notes and tips: While subways tunnels are off limits to the public, people can get into them if they’re determined enough.
Setting description example: Martin’s footsteps echoed in the damp air and a steady breeze blew through his work shirt, chilling his skin.
THE RURAL SETTING THESAURUS Last one, and it’s the opposite of the urban setting, so it covers all your naturey places, schools, home and anything found outside of a city.
EX:TREE HOUSE
Sights:A rope ladder or boards nailed to the tree trunk to form a ladder, a trapdoor, wooden planks, a cut outwindow, cloth nailed over the window to make curtains.
Sounds: The squeak of floorboards, the rope ladder scraping against the tree trunk, wind in the leaves, branches creaking and scraping against the roof.
Smells: Flowers, fresh-mown grass, new wooden planks, sawdust, rain, clean air, tree sap.
Textures and sensations: Rough wooden planks, nail heads sticking out of boards, cool air slipping through the gaps in the floorboards, the tree house swaying in the wind.
Possible sources of conflict: The tree house falling down due to poor workmanship. Being found by someone one is trying to avoid. Wasps building a nest inside the tree house. Bedbugs and mouldy furniture.
People commonly found here: Kids, neighbours, siblings.
Related settings that may tie in with this one: Backyard. (another page reference is given here)
Setting notes and tips: Tree houses are a kind of rite of passage among many youngsters. While the traditional tree house is constructed of rough materials, today’s hideout can also be bought prefabricated, complete with glass windows, decks, awnings, slides and many other features.
Setting description example: I looked up to what everyone was doing. Nora was polishing the rocks she’d collected at the creek and lining them up on the narrow shelf above the window.
You can purchase these books on Ebay—which is where I bought most of mine—but I recommend doing a search to get the best deal. Some do cost more than others. They’re all round about the same thickness, so the page count is even throughout, so don’t let that dictate book costs.
If there’s one thing Ambrose hates, it’s not knowing the answer. A genuine moment of confusion where he’s left fumbling for a reply. It happens most in social situations, and who can blame him? What is the right thing to say to the right person at the right time? It’s no wonder he sticks to the fringes, staying out of sight. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the fact he’s just dropped something lethal in a passing glass and doesn’t want anyone to remember his face or name – not that he gives his real one. Still, he hates not knowing. It sends his lip curling like it’s misidentified with the ones on his head. Ignorance. An unfavourable comparison and expectation to his Rom heritage that lacking an answer equals lacking intelligence. Ambrose hates not knowing. So, it’s natural that when a target takes an interest in him he has to know why. There’s nothing odd in that. He’s doing his job. Knowledge is power, so Hisakawa Kagegorou says.
A Brotherhood Deacon instructing others how to kill in the most efficient ways, Hisakawa Yoshihiro is the best teacher available — and would be even if he wasn’t the third son of Hisakawa Kagegorou. He’s read all the books and studied until he got migraines. He has a respectable kill count under his belt, considering he rarely leaves Sakyamuni unless he’s taking students on educational field trips. His cordial appearance with gentle eyes and pleasant smile deceive anyone who doesn’t know better. He’s a wicked educator. Despicable and devious. He expects results and has no sympathy for those who can’t get the job done. What he’s asking isn’t hard. A little efficiency and a decent gun are all anyone needs. No, he did not shoot himself in the foot — figuratively or literally. Stupid rumours about teachers are commonplace. Everyone knows that.
